


count your blessings, not your flaws

by rissalaroo



Series: aralas oneshots [2]
Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ficlet, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Vignette, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 11:28:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17446088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rissalaroo/pseuds/rissalaroo
Summary: Aragorn felt a stab in his chest, guilt and love intertwining painfully in his heart, claws digging in deep. Legolas looked positively beautiful, he thought, crowned in the golden rays of the early sun. A dream, something that he would always be to Aragorn. Never anything more.The elf turned, his hair catching the sun like a net of the finest gold, eyes glittering like emeralds as he tilted his head downwards.Title from Lauren Aquilina's song "King."





	count your blessings, not your flaws

**Author's Note:**

> *slides into the LOTR fandom 16 years late, without starbucks*
> 
> hey! i'm here because i finally watched the damn movies, due to my friend's constant "YOU SHOULD WATCH LOTR, IT'S GOOD AND YOU'D LIKE IT! WATCH LOTR, WATCH LOTR!" (thank you though ily and im glad you coerced me into watching them)
> 
> so moon moon, this is for you bro <3

Aragorn opened his eyes reluctantly, the morning sun streaming over the horizon. He flipped his hood back, the thin sliver of shade that lay over his eyes snatched away by his own hand. He sighed as he stood and paced over to the long-since burned to ashes fire, reflecting on the events of yesterday. Gandalf had fallen in a way that he had not dreamed the old wizard ever would. It had surprised the whole fellowship, and had hurt the four hobbits most of all.

He could still hear Boromir’s pained cry of, _“Have a heart, Aragorn! Let them mourn for but one minute!” _echoing in his ears. He succumbed to grief for a minute, since nobody else was yet awake to see. He hunched his shoulders, staring into the cold ashes as though they might offer him some semblance of comfort.__

__Moving on quickly had been the right choice, he knew. That didn’t mean that an aching claw of guilt didn’t tug at his heart. He knew how much Gandalf had meant to Frodo, to the rest of the Fellowship. Without him, they were naught but defenseless to Saurumon’s spells._ _

__“Aragorn, what troubles you so?” inquired a soft voice from behind him. Aragorn nearly leapt at the sound; he had almost forgotten how quiet Legolas could be when he wished it._ _

__The ranger sighed as he settled back down, rubbing a hand across his face. “Gandalf’s fall worries me greatly,” he admitted, turning to look back at his friend and companion of many years. The elf’s eyes were distant, as though he were contemplating something on the horizon as he settled himself down beside Aragorn.._ _

__“It troubles us all, dear friend,” He said finally, shifting his gaze back to meet Aragorn’s. “All we can do now is protect Frodo and the ring, and hope to transport him safely to the rim of Mount Doom and the heart if Mordor.”_ _

__Placed that way, it felt all but impossible. They’d be more than simply lucky to make it in there alive, much less come out._ _

__“And,” Legolas continued gently, “You must seat yourself firmly on the throne of Gondor before Lord Elrond will ever let you claim Lady Arwen’s hand in marriage.”_ _

__“It is not Lady Arwen I fight for,” Aragorn admitted softly, breaking his gaze away. “I love her dearly, but she loves me in a way I cannot return. She loves me the way I love another. Another that I cannot be with. And this she knows.”_ _

__“Is Lord Elrond aware?” Legolas asked cautiously, studying his old friend’s weary face._ _

__Aragorn closed his eyes, a hand pressed to his temple. “He does not, and it shall stay that way.”_ _

__“And who is the one you desire in the same way that Lady Arwen desires you?”  
_ _

__

__

__Aragorn reopened his eyes, the usually steely grey of his irises dull. “I cannot say.”_ _

__“Cannot or will not, friend?”_ _

__“Both, for their sake and mine.” Aragorn felt a stab in his chest, guilt and love intertwining painfully in his heart, claws digging in deep. Legolas looked positively beautiful, he thought, crowned in the golden rays of the early sun. A dream, something that he would always be to Aragorn. Never anything more._ _

__The elf turned, his hair catching the sun like a net of the finest gold, eyes glittering like emeralds as he tilted his head downwards._ _

__“I, too, have someone I fight for.” said Legolas softly, studying the dirt beneath his boots with a sharp intensity. “One that I cannot be with, who longs for another.” He placed his hand on Aragorn’s shoulder. “But you and I both are here, despite the way our hearts ache. That means that we will fight, in their honor, in their name, even if that name remains unspoken. Perhaps once we return, you will find that they love you at long last. Whoever they are, they must be wonderful, if they hold your affections so tightly.”_ _

__“Indeed, he has me in a grasp so tight that I can barely breathe when I see his face.” Aragorn said in a voice, low and gravelly, barely above a whisper. He took a deep breath, throwing all caution to the wind. For an immortal elven warrior, Legolas could be quite daft and oblivious at times. “He is has the most beautiful eyes.”_ _

__“Indeed. A lucky man, to have won the heart of the King of Gondor. Perhaps you will name him your consort when you return?” The light in Legolas’s leaf-green eyes was bittersweet, his gaze still downcast._ _

__“Perhaps, but only if he should wish so,” said Aragorn. “But I fear he desires another.”_ _

__Legolas’s head snapped up. “But who would desire another, when he has the King of Gondor so enthralled by his mere presence?”_ _

__Aragorn shrugged. “The one I love, it would seem.”_ _

__Legolas’s gaze met his. “Then he is unworthy of you. He should desire you, and you only.”_ _

__Aragorn met Legolas’s gaze with equal intensity. “I love who I love, so is it not my fault?” he asked._ _

__“Never,” the elf replied softly. “It is never your fault.”_ _

__“Perhaps it is, though.” he mused. “Perhaps I am at fault, for holding out hope for all these years. Perhaps I have been wrong to dream. Wrong to hope. Wrong to even consider. For he has known me since before I knew that I had a legacy to uphold, when I was merely Estel, and he has shown no sign. But I cannot help but hope that someday, he might see a fraction in me of what I see in him.” his eyes were calm, the pain and sorrow replaced by a calm neutrality._ _

__“How could he not?” Legolas protested weakly. “You are amazing, any man would be more than lucky to have you as a lover.”_ _

__Aragorn reached out, stroking Legolas’s jaw gently, his touch feather-light. The elf shivered. No turning back, he repeated in his head. _No turning back. _“He is no mere man, but the most beautiful elf I have ever laid eyes upon.”___ _

____He cupped his hand under the elf’s jaw, and leaned closer. Cautiously, tentatively. He wanted this, had wanted this with every fiber of his being for years on end. But he would never rush, never make the love of his life uncomfortable in any manner. His caution was shattered as Legolas closed the rest of the distance between them, his soft lips on Aragorn’s own. He slid both hands into Aragorn’s hair, fingers tangling into his curls._ _ _ _

____Aragorn’s other hand crept around the elf’s waist to his back, pressing them even closer together. Legolas tilted his g]head further, opening his mouth to Aragorn’s. The ranger groaned softly into the kiss, leaning further forward, but Legolas pulled back._ _ _ _

____Breathing heavily, still tangled up in a compromising position, Legolas rested his forehead against Aragorn’s. “It was me,” he whispered reverently. “All along, you spoke of me.”_ _ _ _

____The ranger nodded almost imperceptibly. “Yes.”_ _ _ _

____“I truly hold your affections in that tight of a grasp?” he asked quietly, nervously._ _ _ _

____“Of course,” Aragorn whispered, not at all hesitant. “I would-” he looked down, “-I would be more than overjoyed if, after this is all over, you would come to Minas Tirth with me. To be….”_ _ _ _

____Legolas bit his lip anxiously, worrying it between his teeth._ _ _ _

____“To be my royal consort, and my lover?”_ _ _ _

____The elf looked away, blonde hair falling in front of his face. He was silent for a long minute as Aragorn looked at him worriedly. “Legolas? What is wrong? Are you unhappy with my offer?”_ _ _ _

____As his hand gently tucked a strand of golden hair behind a pointed ear, the elf looked up at him, and Aragorn could see tears gathering in those beautiful green eyes. “No, _meleth. _In fact, there is nothing that I would like more.”___ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______As Aragorn rose from his knees, newly crowned the king of Gondor, the crown pressed down heavily on his temples. But perhaps, he mused, it was a burden he’d be willing to bear. The crown will never weight too heavily upon him, his love for his people making the responsibility seem lighter than air._ _ _ _ _ _

______He turned, and his awaiting people cheered. Their voices rang in his ears, the sound strong and whole and clear. Gondor was unified under one man; her rightful king._ _ _ _ _ _

______Aragorn smiled. No longer a mere ranger, but a beloved king, returned home at last._ _ _ _ _ _

______Gandalf, white beard flashing in Aragorn’s peripherals as he moved, spoke so that only he could hear. “Now you have but one thing left to claim, my friend.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Without a word more, Aragorn descended from the dias. Each stair seemed to take eons, but he did not rush. There was time, and he would cherish that feeling for as long as he could._ _ _ _ _ _

______At the end of the long aisle there stood a collection of elves. In the front stood Lord Elrond and Lady Arwen, the former watching his descent with an almost imperceptible hint of pride, and the latter beaming widely. Her cheeks were rosy and her lips pink, and her eyes glowed with nothing but happiness and pride. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned forward, her soft lips pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Take good care of him, won’t you, Aragorn?” Arwen whispered._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I will,” He promised as she pulled back, squeezing his shoulders one last time before her and Elrond stepped aside. _Enjoy yourself, _her eyes seemed to say. _You deserve it. _______ _ _ _ _

__________Her small sidestep revealed another elf behind her, his blonde hair glowing with the rays of the sun. The sight ripped the breath out of Aragorn’s lungs, even though he’d seen in many times before._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________His betrothed stood before him, more radiant than the most beautiful of sunsets. He met Aragorn’s bright grey eyes, his own leaf green ones bright with love._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“My love,” Legolas whispered, and that was all it took for Aragorn to surge forward, covering the last two strides in only one step, and sweep his lover into a kiss. Legolas locked his hands around Aragorn’s neck and returned every ounce of his passion, reflecting of every bit of his fire._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________When they broke apart, the crowd was cheering again. But the only sound that Legolas could hear was the sound of Aragon’s beating heart as the man pulled him closer, and the _“I love you,” _whispered into his ear right afterwards.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Perhaps, Aragorn thought, the weight of Gondor wouldn’t feel as heavy if he had the love of his life to bear it along with him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are what I live for! i'm working on an original piece and I need to work on shaping my writing style, so constructive criticism and the like would be appreciated too. :)
> 
> also hmu at rissa-doodles.tumblr.com if u wanna talk about these two, or really anything lotr!!


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